Students protest changes to financial aid

Changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program recently announced by the Ford government has put more pressure on students to pay their debt.

On Jan. 17, 2019, the provincial government announced its plan to roll back tuition by 10 per cent, change the Ontario Student Assistance Program and make ancillary student fees optional, putting into question the tenability of various student organizations.

The change will lower the family income threshold, meaning families will need to make less in order to qualify for the OSG. The Progressive Conservative government also cut the provincial six-month grace period offered to graduated students and will begin charging interest on the provincial contribution immediately following graduation.

University of Windsor students raised concerns over the changes and hosted a rally on Jan. 24 outside the student centre at the University of Windsor.

“It’s offensive to me that Doug Ford is trying to pull the wool over our eyes as framing this as a tuition cut,” said Angela Zhu, a law student at the University of Windsor.

Holding colourful boards which said “I’ll be financially bankrupt, Ford is already morally bankrupt,” Zhu led the crowd in a chant of “Hey hey, ho ho, tuition fees have got to go.”

Zhu is also one of the student organizers of the protest and an international student from Tianjin, China. Zhu said students like her are dependent on educational loans and it’s hard to repay them if their debt increases.

Zhu said she owes $40,000 in student loans and it will be hard to repay it if she does not get a scholarship from OSAP. Zhu is among thousands of students in Ontario who are affected and unhappy with the provincial government’s changes to OSAP.

“I can’t imagine having to pay double what I already owe which is how much I would owe if there were no grants.”

Deborah Willoughby is another law student at University of Windsor and one among the protesters.

“We want a quality education and we want to be able to afford to do it while living,” said Willoughby.

Nearly 100 students, workers, alumni and concerned community members joined the protest.

Lisa Gretzky, MPP Windsor West, says this recent announcement is taking the education system backward.

“The minister who made the announcement said that every student who qualifies will be able to pursue post-secondary education,” said Gretzky.

“They are all standing with you, with us, to fight against the cuts to our education system.”

Zhu feels this is just the beginning and she expects the government will come down with changes to this announcement or else students will keep fighting back.

“If Ford keeps cutting us, if he keeps hurting our education, we are going to strike and fight back,” said Zhu.